Visit to Halcon & Foursight- pics and notes

This past Sunday was a fantastic day of tasting in Yorkville Highlands/Anderson Valley, including stops with fellow Berserkers Paul at Halcon Vineyard and Joe at Foursight.

At Halcon, Paul and Jackie Gordon showed us their amazing site for Rhône varietals- 2500 feet elevation in the Yorkville Highlands AVA, organically-farmed, schist soils, and temperature patterns similar to Ampuis. It’s a beautifully remote site with expansive views of Anderson Valley. A great lineup of wines- we especially loved the 2015 Alturas Syrah, with elegant Northern Rhône-style expression of fruit and savory herbs and flowers, as well as the 2015 Esquisto Grenache/Mourvedre blend. The great hospitality included a comparative tasting with a 2009 Levet La Chavaroche.

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We also had a nice stop with Joe at Foursight. Excellent 2014 Pinot Noirs showing fig fruit and dusty spices & earth. A sneak preview of the upcoming 2015’s showed great density and complexity.


ANDERSON VALLEY, JULY 2 - (7/4/2017)

• 2013 Halcon Vineyards Prado Alder Springs Vineyard - USA, California, North Coast, Mendocino County
  Aromas of wheat straw, honeysuckle, mineral, yellow apple and lemon zest. Silky texture with the spice and honeysuckle notes becoming more pronounced on the palate. Nicely textured. Medium acidity. Good depth throughout.
• 2015 Halcon Vineyards Pinot Noir Wentzel Vineyard - USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley
  Aromas of raspberry, earthy spice, forest floor, clove and lavender. Fig-driven fruit on the palate, with mineral notes, spices and earth depth. Elegant density, medium-plus acid, fine tannins, expansive on the finish. Very nice.
• 2015 Halcon Vineyards Esquisto - USA, California, North Coast, Yorkville Highlands
  Dark aromas of earthy spice, black cherry and lavender. Fresh and lively on the palate, with bright dark fruit and flowery spice depth. Elegant, medium weight, with balanced acidity and fine tannins, and solid depth on the finish. Very nice.
• 2015 Halcon Vineyards Syrah Alturas - USA, California, North Coast, Yorkville Highlands
  Aromas of mesquite smoke, sous bois, eastern spices, blackberry and violet. Bright, open and layered on the palate, blending black raspberry fruit with seamless secondary balance. Elegant, medium weight, nice complementary acidity with elegant fine-grain tannins. Good depth throughout. Exceptional.
• 2015 Halcon Vineyards Petite Sirah Tierra Theopolis Vineyard - USA, California, North Coast, Yorkville Highlands
  Aromas of tea leaf, allspice berry, cassis, damp earth and black cherry. Dense dark fruit notes on the palate with layered secondary depth. Medium to full body, nice elegance, broad firm tannins and solid depth. Rhone-ish style Petit Sirah- very nice.
• 2016 Foursight Sauvignon Blanc Charles Vineyard - USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley
  Showing citrus, green apple, gooseberry, white florals and white pepper throughout. Round on the palate with just enough richness to the texture to balance out the pyrazines and bright acidity. Nicely done.
• 2015 Foursight Sémillon Charles Vineyard - USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley
  Showing notes of tea leaf, white pepper, clove and citrus zest. Round, mouthfilling palate with spice & fig. Full bodied and finely textured, with medium acidity and a full finish. Very nice.
• 2014 Foursight Pinot Noir Zero Charles Vineyard - USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley
  Aromas of tea leaf, fig, spices and sandalwood. Elegant texture showing dried fig & raspberry, tea leaf, allspice and hibiscus. Medium-plus acid, fine tannin and a full finish. Very nice.
• 2014 Foursight Pinot Noir Charles Vineyard - USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley
  Aromas of baking spice, fig, dried hibiscus, red cherry- open red fruit on the palate with nuanced floral spice notes. Elegant texture and weight, medium acidity & fine tannin. Lingering spice and dried herb on the finish. Very nice.
• 2015 Foursight Pinot Noir Clone 05 Charles Vineyard - USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley
  Aromas of eastern spice, sandalwood, fig, and dried black raspberry. Complex on the palate with fig, baking and savory spice, cedar, earth and mineral notes. Densely structured, medium weight, fine tannins and a full finish. Very nice.
• 2015 Foursight Pinot Noir Paraboll - USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley
  Aromas of cedar, baking spice, fig cake. Cherry and fig fruit on the palate, rich and ripe with backing spice and cedar. Fine broad tannins. Full finish.
• 2015 Foursight Pinot Noir Zero Charles Vineyard - USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley
  Aromas of baking spice, fig, sandalwood, orange zest. Consistent flavors on the palate, elegant and floral. Medium acid, fine tannins, full finish. Looking good early.
• 2015 Foursight Pinot Noir Charles Vineyard - USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley
  Aromas of fig, sandalwood, wet stones, dried hibiscus and eastern spice. Richly elegant palate with layered secondary flavors, medium-plus acidity, fine-grained tannins and an expansive finish. Excellent.
• 2015 Drew Family Cellars Viognier Valenti Vineyard - USA, California, North Coast, Mendocino Ridge
  Notes of apricot, lemon oil, tropical fruits and honeysuckle flowers. Nicely balance, nice acidity, finely structure, with a full finish. Very nice.
• 2015 Drew Family Cellars Pinot Noir Fog Eater - USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley
  Notes of pomegranate, mushroom, sandalwood, cherry and violets. Bright red fruit on the palate with densely packed secondary earth and spice notes. Ample acidity, fine smooth tannins, and good depth overall.
• 2015 Drew Family Cellars Pinot Noir Fashauer Vineyard - USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley
  Aromas of mushroom, sandalwood, braised fig, lavender and earth. Bright fruit on the palate, with dense secondary minerality & earth, savory spice. Finely textured, medium acidity, silky tannins and a broad finish. Excellent.
• 2015 Drew Family Cellars Syrah Valenti Vineyard - USA, California, North Coast, Mendocino Ridge
  Aromas of dried black fruit, cherry, white pepper, allspice, cassis and dried flowers. Bright black current fruit on the palate with dense earth & spices and mineral notes. Medium body, with fine tannins and good depth on the finish. Very nice.

Posted from CellarTracker

Thanks for the review!
Just driving the fire road up to Halcón puts you in awe of the pricing. Great people, great wines.

Thanks for the great notes, Matt! I’m planning to visit Halcón in about a month and hope to visit Foursight and Drew as well, so this is very timely.

Halcon Alturus is always a winner for me.

Good to see you again Matt. You picked a great day to stop by as I had a couple preview '15’s open and had the cellar ready to taste 2 of the '16’s from barrel.

Looks like you liked everything that you tried from Halcon and Drew as well. I to love those wines and they are both doing top notch work here in Mendocino County.

By coincidence, I’ve been enjoying a Halcón 2014 Oppenlander Vineyard Pinot Noir the past couple of nights. I’ve enjoyed most Pinots from Oppenlander and this is among the best. Even better the second night.

Glad you enjoyed Ken- thank you. It’s an easy day to see all three, but for those who may visit in the Halcon in the future, definitely plan for 20 minutes or so each way up the mountain, but a fun (and bumpy) drive.

Good to see you as well, Joe. Glad I caught you in the TR, and thanks for sharing the upcoming releases and barrel samples- more good stuff on the horizon at Foursight.

Indeed, it was tough to find a disagreeable wine this past Sunday- Mendocino wines were singing. Wish I would have had more time. We drove all the way back to Goleta/Santa Barbara at the end of the day…

I was scheduled to go visit Paul at the vineyard some years ago but wasn’t able to make it there due to snow and mud on the road.

Just checked and that was in late February 2007 - can’t believe it was 10 years ago, and I still haven’t been up there! Hopefully that will change very soon.

Thanks for making the (long) trek up to the vineyard Matt. It great hosting you guys.
Glad to see you made it to Joe’s place.

just got the fall prerelease form 2015 Cerise pinot, 2016 Esquisto,2015 Petit sirah and 2015 Alturas. All reasonably priced at <$35. Will definitely pick some up

Just as a follow-up to Matt’s great notes and photos from a few months back, here are links to write-ups on my visits to Halcón, Drew, Foursight, and a few others in Mendocino County.
Mendocino County Wine Tour - August 2017 - Part 1 (Halcón, Drew)
Mendocino County Wine Tour - August 2017 - Part 2 (Foursight, Navarro, Baxter, Witching Stick, Elke, Pennyroyal Farm)

On a related note, if you’re looking for something to do in San Francisco this evening, there’s a wine event called “Taste of Anderson Valley” being held at the Golden Gate Club in the SF Presidio from 6-8:30pm. Drew, Foursight, Navarro, many others pouring there, including Littorai and Williams Selyem. Looks like you can no longer buy advance tickets but there will be tickets available at the door this evening - link here:
Taste of Anderson Valley, Thursday, November 9, 2017 from 6:00PM to 8:30PM

I received an updated email from Paul @ Halcón. He elaborated on the added Mourvedre in the Esquisto red wine and the Estate Vineyard…

“After sending the email below we just had our first good Mourvedre harvest in a number of years. We decided to keep 1.5t of Mourvedre as separate ferment and will likely bottle a 100% Mourvedre. Inspired us to bud 1/2 an acre of Syrah to more Mourvedre in the spring. I am sure we will have some (very) disappointing yield years but going to go for it.”*

Some Q&A:

• What Mourvedre Clone/selection you have worked with, and why you have chosen that particular one?

“We went with the Tablas Creek selection. Hard to go wrong with Mourvedre from Beaucastel!”

• What thoughts do you have regarding the relationship between Grenache and Mourvedre; what makes these two such a happy couple?

“Mourvedre’s reductive character provides a counter to the oxidative character of Grenache. Most importantly we can get phenologically ripe Mourvedre at 22-22.5b while Grenache tends to a higher brix (even at our cool vineyard) - the combination allows for a more balanced wine.”

• Why do you think you have had success growing Grenache and Syrah, whereas Mourvedre* has proven more challenging in getting mature fruit?

“The really challenge has been been yields. The Mourvedre has generally ripened well (though 2010 and 2011 were difficult). I believe the issue is our very cool Mays (cooler than Willamette Valley) which can result in low bud fertility (for the following year). We have responded by pruning a little later (pushing back budbreak and thus later bud formation) and pruning a slightly longer spurs - rather than two buds per spur we are leaving less spurs (2-4 per plant) with 3-4 buds each, as the higher buds tend to be more fertile.”

• Originally, Paul had commented that the location of the Halcón Estate made ripening Mourvedre very tricky.